I want to know a single word which denotes the idea of full or maximum utilization, such as the words exploit or milk. But the trouble is, they both have a negative tone to them. Is there a positive word which can be substituted for 'best use' etc.

6 Answers
6

I think it's worth pointing out that exploit doesn't always have a negative connotation, particularly in the context of exploit the benefits of... (or, exploit the advantages of...)

"Hardware support alone is not sufficient to exploit the benefits of multithreading. We believe that the performance benefits of
multithreading can only be realized when the paradigm is applied
across all levels..." (M. Zelkowitz)

Most online dictionaries I consulted showed two definitions - one positive, and one negative. Moreover, the positive sense of the word was usually listed first. From Merriam-Webster's:

exploit (trans. verb) 1 : to make productive use of; to utilize 2 : to
make use of meanly or unfairly for one's own advantage

Nonetheless, the negative connotation is undeniably there. If you're looking for a synonym without that negative connotation, you might try leverage (already suggested) or harness.

Yes. True. But to be honest, the word maximize has so much been used with the word profit, that it feels like it has a corporate air to it. I mean, semantically speaking it's just the word. But is there any other?
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Saad Rehman ShahMar 16 '12 at 22:41

In Spanish, there is such a verb: aprovechar. But there doesn't seem to be any single English word that captures all of that, without also being prone to pejorative use.

Several phrases, like take advantage of, utilize (or use) efficiently, and so on, present themselves, but in the end they are always about efficiency of manipulating or producing objects, not about people. So there's no way to get rid of the pejorative impulses that surround these terms; they're unavoidable whenever more than one person is involved in the resource being efficiently used or the advantage being taken.